


One Life For the Two of Us

by alittlewicked, Loeily



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Magical Girls, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Happy Ending, Infinity Gems, M/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Smut, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, True Love, True Love's Kiss, basically Steve is sick of being reborn, but you do two millennia of reincarnation and remember all of it, so the deaths are not permanent, they all are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 23:21:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19239157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alittlewicked/pseuds/alittlewicked, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loeily/pseuds/Loeily
Summary: “You know, for as long as I can remember, across all my lives, I just wanted to do what was right. I guess I’m not quite sure what that is anymore.” Sighing, Steve burrowed deeper into Bucky’s arms.A soft nudge to his chin made him look up and into the steel grey eyes that he had come to love more than anything else in the past two millennia. They held everything he ever longed for: love, compassion, and the will to stay until the very end of the line.Or: A story in which Steve is one of the Avengers guarding the six Infinity Stones and has two millennia and a lot of battles to go through to finally get that one life for Bucky and himself.





	One Life For the Two of Us

**Author's Note:**

> First of all thank you to my amazing artist Loeily whose art is just amazing and gave me so many ideas that I couldn't really decide on what to do with it! I love your Steve character concept and I'm in love with the header and if any of you ever get the chance to work with them: DO IT!!! Thank you, Loeily, for your patience and your creative input and your art, it was a pleasure!! 
> 
> Then thanks to my beta F who knows by now what a major clusterfuck I am until / when there is a deadline. 
> 
> And then thanks to the awesome mods making this Bang possible!

One Life for the Two of Us

Genesis | Steve. 

At the beginning of it all, there was nothing but the void and its eternal darkness. Then there was the booming of the Big Bang that not only created the universe, but also forced six elemental gems into existence. These six crystals symbolized and controlled the essential aspects of all life on Earth. As such, each of the so called Infinity Stones possessed unique capabilities and were pure, concentrated power. They were so powerful that they could not be wielded by anyone but beings of immense power.

And since this very start of the universe, there was a struggle to use the power of the Infinity Stones for either the side of good or evil. Over the course of the last few centuries, the balance had tipped towards the powers of good. A group of extraordinary individuals had been born and stepped onto the stage of global wars and interests. 

They were able to carry the burden of the gems and channel their forces to transform into beings much more than any human could ever dream to be. The gems suffused these beings with so much of their power that the humans became a part of them. So much so, that the Stones brought their carriers back after their life spans had run their courses in an unending cycle of re-incarnation to keep the balance of powers on Earth and the universe beyond this single planet. These exceptional beings were called the Avengers. 

Steve had been the first one to literally stumble across one of the gems. Sometime around 300 BC, as a sickly, frail teenager, he had wandered the woods of Ireland, of Hibernia as the Romans had called it then, in search of food. As it went, he hadn't found any berries or mushrooms but a circle of huge monoliths, towering up above him and glowing a ghostly blue light. A light that emanated from a blue gem, floating within the perimeter of the stones, hauntingly beautiful and unlike anything else he had ever seen before. 

Everything in him had screamed and begged to turn tail, to run as far as his legs and lung allowed him. To bring as many lengths as possible between him and this strange magical artifact in the abandoned woods far beyond the settlement of any of his people. 

But even two millennia ago, Steve had been nothing if not curious. Curious and perhaps a little bit of what his mother called starry-eyed and overly adventurous. And louder even than his instincts roaring to get away, he had heard a call from the gem, beseeching him to come closer still. So close, that he could wrap delicate fingers around it. 

Tendrils of blue light wrapped around him, embracing him like a lover’s arms.  
A rush of energy flooded him, from the palm that delicately cradled the stone along his veins and bones. It flooded his body like the streams of the An Bhearú when he waded into it from the river banks to clean himself. It warmed him like the hearth in his mother’s hut. 

It made his body stronger than he ever was. His spine had straightened, his lungs were fluttering confidently, and his heart was pumping steadily along without its former murmurs and arrhythmia. 

And that was how Steve had ended up standing there, in the middle of the Irish woods, with a bluish glowing gem in a brooch pinned at the middle of his chest, and unable to even imagine what trials he would have to overcome in the following centuries, decades, and millennia. 

All that he knew was that the world was torn and shaken by wars. And now, with the help of the Space Stone he was finally able to help the people. Not just by being a good and fair person in his everyday life, by helping others with small things and lending a hand where needed. But by ending war and bringing peace to humanity. 

It was his destiny to bring love and peace to the world. 

***

Anagénnisi | Ice.

The first thing that registered in Steve's mind was the cold. A cold so all-encompassing that it seemed like it had become a part of himself. He couldn't remember ever being cold like that in all of his existence. And that was spanning some centuries by now.

A nagging voice in the back of his mind that sounded suspiciously like Bucky was grumbling about how his uniform was most likely the reason that he was freezing. A tiny vest and even tinier shorts were not the proper uniform you fought battles in. And the blue shimmering material that was light as air and wrapped appealingly around his arms, legs, and waist did nothing to protect him from any weather conditions he found himself in. The fact that his chest was nearly completely exposed probably did not help matters either. 

But Bucky could shut his trap right this second. Not even the gear of the mountain infantry of the Allied forces that was stationed in the Alps would have helped him right now.  
Surrounding him was an iciness that slowed down the beating of his heart, a coldness that made his mind sluggish. Dulling every thought, numbing every emotion. Forcing the sense that something was not right to become vague and misty. Battling down the painful hurt of feeling like someone was missing, that he was still in danger and needed to stand back up to continue fighting. 

And perhaps he should just give in. He could let himself fade away, becoming one with the cold and set the pain inside his soul free.

Then there was noise. It started as a groaning, rumbling through Steve and resonating with his deepest core. A soul-deep aching of a soul that found a way to be heard. 

Eyes moving rapidly behind closed lids and stuttering breathe.  
"Bucky..."

The sound of glass shattering, mirrored shards breaking into a million pieces, and frozen stones bursting apart was what catapulted him back to consciousness.

What he saw was too much to comprehend. 

Ice. Everywhere was ice. He was surrounded by solidly frozen ice - pressed up against him, towering up above him, embracing him with freezing, unforgiving arms. 

Nothing around him but crystalline blues and vibrant whites. But no reds to bleed love and warmth. Breathing picking up at the wrongness of it, heart stumbling over every beat. The thought of someone important slipping away.

The cacophony of ice shattering and breaking around him. The harsh cold that had seeped into his bones and marrow. The close confines of a smooth, frozen casket around him.  
It forced a scream out of the very depths of his soul, born from fear, dread, and despair. A loss felt so suddenly and deeply in a frozen grave.

Then the icy blue sky cracked open above him and a familiar face was frowning down at him. A face that he knew so well, one that shares lines from laughter and grief with him. One that had perished right before his eyes what seemed like a second ago. And which should not look as healthy and well-rested, if not slightly older than Steve remembered.

"Tony?" And then it became dark around him once more. 

***

Teleute | The Great War.

“Steve, get down!” Reacting to the voice without a conscious thought, the blond man dropped down into a crouch. A fraction of a second later, Steve could feel a bullet piercing the air above his head. The sound of the magically enforced iron embedding itself in a body and lighting up like a light grenade followed a millisecond later. 

A hand appeared in his line of sight, palm open and fingers extended to help him back on his feet. 

Gripping the offered hand tightly, he let himself be pulled up. 

“Buck…” 

Before he could say another word, the hand he still held in his yanked him closer and another bullet was fired over Steve’s shoulder. 

“No rest while battling the wicked, Stevie!” Winking at him, the other man squeezed their clasped hands once more before taking off once more, firing his gun tirelessly. 

And all Steve could do was watch him go: broad shoulders pulled back confidently, steps sure as he strutted forward. Watched him fire one deadly salve after another, the bullets that Tony had specially designed for the purpose of purifying the shadows. He hoped with all his heart that the man he had come to love over the last few years would come out unscathed of all of this. 

He had spent two millennia wandering the Earth and only now he had found someone he could for once grow peacefully old with. Someone who could help carry him the burden of the Stone and shield, ensuring the safety of all humankind. In weak moments, he could even see the two of them leaving it all behind. No more fighting, no more re-incarnations.  
Just Bucky and Steve, ‘til the end of the line of a normal life filled with love. One live just for the two of them. 

Chest heaving, Steve threw his shield for what felt like the thousandth time. Biting down at the desperate feeling of helplessness, he summoned his magic, concentrating it in his right hand, and caught his shield again with a sure grip.

He looked around him, anxiously appraising their situation on the battle field. The Hulk and Thor were bursting through the defensive lines of the enemy. Green and purple bursts of energy were crackling and whipping around the shadows, purifying their souls and purging evil from everything they touched. 

He could sense Hawkeye and the Widow farther down East, using the powers of Reality and Soul to keep another one of Thanos' battalions at bay. Red and orange lightning was flashing up around them beautifully. Out of all the Avengers, those two fell into sync and love more rapidly time and time again. 

A yellow colored wave of energy washed around Steve out of nowhere. It embraced him, caressed him. While at the same time, it pierced the soldiers of the dark side encroaching at his back and forcing the shadows out of their human hosts, leaving behind unconscious bodies all around him.

Looking up, Steve saw Iron Man hovering above him. 

"Quit dawdling, Cap!" Concentrating another ball of energy in his right hand, the one that was encased by the gauntlet holding the Mind gem.

"Come on, we got people to save, shadows to burn, and Thanos' ass to kick!" 

With that, he sent another wave of Mind energy at an incoming group of shadowy soldiers before taking off towards where the Hulk and Thor were slowly overrun by the masses possessed by evil. 

Chuckling slightly, Steve bit down on his doubts. They had conquered so much else over the years and overcome so many trials. With each new incarnation, the six of them fell into the easy comradery they shared time and time again. Each life fitting in like a missing puzzle piece. 

Powering up the blue glowing orb in his right hand once more, he punched his way through another line of their enemy's defense. Each purified shadow one step closer to Thanos.  
People had told him many times over the last centuries that he looked like an avenging angel with the blue glow of the Space Stone surrounding him. As soon as he allowed the transformation to take over to prepare for battle, he shed his easy going persona. He let his naiveté and good faith take a step back as soon as he gripped his shield to fight for what was left of the good in humanity. 

When he was in his Avenger form, he was commanding the attention of everyone on the battle grounds. Inciting fear in those who deserved so and sparking hope in everyone still believing in what was good and just. 

Tightening his hold on the shield, he brought his attention back to the fight going around him. 

That was when he felt the first of his team fall in this century. 

The first of the six Avengers, the carriers of the Infinity Stones, the keepers of the balance between light and dark and the aspects of existence. His team, his friends, his family.  
The softly pulsing consciousness of his four brothers and his sister in arms that had been an ever welcomed presence in the back of his mind burst into a wild turmoil. One of them had flared up with burning pain before fading out of existence, leaving nothing behind but nothingness. 

Head whipping around wildly, Steve looked frantically for the orange glow of Natasha’s Infinity Stone. Hoping against hope that he would still find it shining brilliantly among the writhing shadows. 

And then he saw her. 

Still lowing with righteous, beautiful fury. The orange tinted energy of the Soul Stone that was set in a delicate diadem still wafting around her. 

A black, jagged spear piercing her chest, her own weapon of choice falling uselessly to the ground. 

"Widow!" Screaming, Steve wrenched the shield out of one of the shadows that aimed to rip them apart. Had already succeeded in doing so. 

Steve could see Hawkeye dropping his bow and arrows, catching Natasha as she fell. Even across the distance he could see the sorrow and desperation etched into Clint’s face as he cradled to love of his lives close. 

Moments later, the rippling pain of another Avenger falling washed over Steve as another one of the shadows speared the guardian of the Reality Stone. 

Roaring, Steve fell into a sprint across the battlefield, dodging demons and hitting the ones he could not avoid with his bluish glowing shield. Steve felt the Space Stone throb painfully inside the brooch resting on his chest. It felt the loss as strongly as he did. 

***

Genesis | Natasha & Clint.

Natasha and Clint were the first other Avengers that Steve got to meet. And with them, Soul and Reality were the first other all-encompassing powers he experienced for himself besides the Space Stone. 

He had been already reincarnated once and had been wandering the Imperium Romanum for a few decades during this second chance at living. But two lifetimes had been enough for Steve to have come across his fair share of lurking shadows trying to lure unsuspecting souls to the dark and waging war for power over the Infinity Stones. 

Because the Stones granted unimaginable power to their carriers and all six of them combined would grant any wish… 

Yadda, yadda. Not that Steve would call himself overly nihilistic or selfless but he would gladly hand over his gem to the next worthy person in line. He hadn't ever cared much for power, not even the one the Space Stone granted him. Even if the rush of transforming into his Avenger form was exhilarating. 

 

But he could very well live out this second life as a normal man, just settling down somewhere. Build a family. Without the fear of someone trying to attack him and steal the gem away from him. 

But he had also met the self-righteous burning flames of the good that went astray on their hunt for the greater good and the Stones. He had come across souls that had been erringly convinced to be of a greater worth than others and leaving behind destruction and pain and ashes just as bad as the shadows roaming and killing among the people.  
And it was his duty as a guardian of one of the gems to keep the balance of good and evil. No matter the intentions of the perpetrator. Because Steve had to painfully learn that even the inherently good could be perverted to a point that its grotesque outgrowths tipped the scale towards the side of everything dark and evil. He had lost his first life thanks to that very scenario.

He had come to realize that darkness lived in everyone and it was a choice that everyone had to make for themselves to succumb to it one way or another. There was nothing that he could do about that, even with the powers of the Space Stone. 

But he still had hope that one day the battles and fighting and wars would be over. That love will save the world. And he would fight with all his might and believe in the good of people for as long as he was worthy of carrying the Space gem. 

This was his mission and he had fully accepted it one fateful day in the Irish woods. 

But life still happened and left its marks on him. 

So Steve had already grown weary of people and their struggle for power and might by the time he heard of the temple of Delphi and its Oracle. For centuries the temple had worked up a reputation for the prowess of its priestesses across all of the known world. Their prophecies had a tendency of being highly priced, but frightfully often becoming true.

And for the last years, the prices had risen more and more. A prophecy now cost more than one life and the hundreds of life lights flickering out of existence had drawn Steve to Greece. That, and the Space Stone resting against his breastbone, pulling him here, towards the south-western slope of Mount Parnassus. 

Now he was standing inside one of the most impressive structures he had ever seen. White marble was glittering in the golden sun. The smell of burnt sage and lavender hung heavily in the air. Softly wafting fumes were meandering around imposing columns. And the dreary atmosphere of a sacred ground was pressing in on his senses even from outside the structure. 

Steve was still marveling at the masterpiece of architecture, for a moment ignoring his duty and the presence of evil, when a voice jarred him out of his musings. 

"Hey there, stranger!" A beautiful woman was leaning against one of the giant pillars along the eastern side of the temple, beckoning him closer with a lazy wave of her hand. 

Her red hair was gleaming in the golden afternoon light that was reflected by the marble around them. It was artfully braided and falling down her back in a heavy tumble of fiery locks. 

Steve stumbled closer to the imposing figure of the woman, magically drawn towards her. 

She was dressed in the artfully draped robes of the priestesses of Apollo. But what really caught Steve's eye was the finely wrought golden diadem resting across the woman's forehead. Because as finely crafted as it was, the real catcher was the orange gem resting in its center. 

"The Soul Stone!" Steve burst out, completely flabbergasted at seeing it paraded around in broad daylight.

"Any louder and we'll find ourselves in the middle of the Agora down in Athens, awaiting trial for treason." A slow drawl from within the temple's shadows let Steve jump, startled. 

A red glow emanating from the diffuse grey between the pillars surrounding them preceded the new speaker's presence. 

Steve clasped his hands in front of his mouth to hold back another yelp: “The Reality Stone!” 

Looking wildly between the priestess and the newcomer who carried the red glowing embodiment of Reality strapped to his right hand by a delicate ring, he tried to make sense of their presence in the temple of Delphi that was crawling with shadows as far as he knew. 

“Nice of you to join us, guardian of the Space Stone,” smirking the young man stepping out from behind a pillar came to a stand next to the woman. “We were just about to expel the shadows of Delphi.”

Steve was still gaping at the pair when an ominous rumbling filled the air and the stone plates beneath his feet suddenly shifted. 

“Time to transform, ladies!” Throwing her long braid back over her shoulders, the woman began her Avengers transformation. The orange light of the Soul Stone above her brow enveloped her form, bands of light wrapping around her arms, torso, and legs – too bright for Steve to look at after a few seconds. 

At the same time, the red tinted power of the Reality Stone burst out from the ring sitting on the man’s right ring finger. His transformation was accompanied by a red glowing aura around his whole body. 

Seconds later, the both of them stood before Steve, clad in shimmering fabrics and golden battle armor around their shins, arms, and chests. Completely unperturbed by the shaking and crackling walls around them. 

“We are Widow,” the woman gestured towards herself, “and Hawkeye, Avengers of Soul and Reality. But you can call me Natasha and that’s Clint!” 

With a deafening roar, the main wall of the temple behind them collapsed. Jumping out of the way of the tumbling chunks of marble raining down on them, all three of them watched as a flood of black shadows streamed out of the temple. 

“Damn, I wouldn’t believe you when you told me it would be that many! That looks like so much fun!” Clint catapulted himself up onto the top of one of the busted columns. 

He pulled a bow out of thin air and shot arrows like rapid fire into the black mass of writhing shadows crawling towards them from the inside of the marble temple. Red bursts of energy lit up where the arrows hit their targets, purging the shadows from existence and leaving behind their unconscious human hosts. 

Chuckling, Natasha looked over at Steve: “It’s his first time seeing fully transformed shadows. And his first time as an Avenger, really. Last guardian apparently got power-thirsty and had to be eliminated.” 

She materialized a beautifully wrought staff in her hands, inlaid with faintly orange glowing runes Steve has never seen before. 

“I’m showing him the ropes for now. And maybe I’d transform if I were you!” With that she took off and plunged herself into the fray of writhing shadows, swinging her staff at any shadow foolish enough to cross her path. Orange light and energy swung through the sea of black like a tidal wave. 

Staring after her, Steve shook his head to himself. From above, he could hear Clint letting out a battle cry before tumbling down from his perch on top of the pillar and after Natasha. He could see himself become friends with those two. And maybe more. Perhaps even family. 

***

Teleute | Worthy.  
Steve was tearing across the battle field when it felt like something powerful had hit him out of nowhere.  
One second, he was reeling from the impact. The next one, he felt the powers of Soul and Reality heavily settling into his mind and body. 

He came to a stumbling halt. 

Nat's diadem had magically transferred itself onto Steve, resting heavily above his brows. Clint's bangle followed just the blink of a moment after. Orange and red was shining brightly around the new carrier of the gems. They had decided Steve as the only one worthy across the battlefield to wield their powers. 

"Steve, what happened?" Breathing heavily, Bucky appeared by his side once more, guns blazing tirelessly. 

A sob forced itself out from deep within his soul.

“Natasha… and Clint… they’re… gone!” He felt himself pulled into a hard hug, Bucky’s left arm wrapped around his waist tightly like a steel band. 

Steve’s knees were shaking as the hurt rolled over him like a tidal wave. The three Infinity Stones weighing on him threatened to pull him under. And only Bucky was holding him upright, unfailingly eliminating the shadows encroaching on the two of them. 

The empty spaces where a part of Natasha and Clint’s souls rested within him were aching and the loose ends of the bonds that bound them together in friendship and love over the last centuries flayed him open from the inside out. 

It was not the first time that an Avenger died in battle. Hell, it was the reason why and how their lives came to an end four times out of five. 

But they had never been as close to each other emotionally in one lifespan. And they hadn’t been in such a close proximity when it happened, no less all six of them assembled on one battle ground. 

But this war was unlike anything else they had to fight and live through yet. Thanos was an enemy like they had never encountered before, one that has been able to turn humans into shadowy monsters faster and at a larger scale than any of them had come across before. It was like just one word of him and people gave into the darkness within them without a second thought. He was able to spoil the most kind-hearted and gracious souls with the snap of a finger. And Thanos had perverted perversion beyond imagination, absorbing human souls into his own shadow and controlling armies of shadowy, evil creatures like puppets. 

It was unthinkable of what such a monster would do if it had the power of one or even all six of the Infinity Stones at its command. 

The Avengers were aware that this could be the end for them, individually or collectively. They even thought about destroying the Stones if it came to it. 

But they were not prepared for what awaited them on the battle field. 

Swallowing down the bile rising in his throat, Steve grasped onto Bucky even tighter. Trying to gain confidence and courage from the love he felt for this man. 

He could not save Natasha and Clint, but he could still salvage the lives of his family, of Bruce, Thor, and Tony. 

And that one precious life of Bucky. The love of all of Steve’s lives. And perhaps the both of them could built up a live for the two of them when all of this was over. 

Just when he straightened his spine and tightened his grip on the straps of his shield, he felt another part of his soul being ripped apart. 

Without even having to see his brother in arms and heart fall, he knew that Thor was gone. 

***

Genesis | Thor.

He met Thor when he was on his way back to his original home in Ireland around the year 9 AD. This time around Steve had been born in Greece as a shadow had taken his second life only a few weeks after his run-in with Natasha and Clint. He was looking into the future bright-eyed and could not wait to see what was still to come for humanity because third times’ the charm and he still believed he could bring mankind the end of wars and eternally lasting peace. 

But from what he had garnered these last few years was that the people were in upheaval. Later, historians would call this the great times of migration. And migrating, Steve would do, too. His Infinity gem was steering him north. 

So he had made his way across the Aegean Sea and to Rome's most important harbor port, Ostia. From there, he joined a group of merchants going north. Over weeks, they first crossed the Rubicon. Then the Alps and at last, the Germanic Raetic Limes before going further north towards the Rhine. 

And then he found himself in the middle of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. And god, a disaster it was indeed. It was not only the alliance of Germanic tribes fighting against the three Roman legions, but also hordes of dehumanized shadows ripping soldiers from both sides apart. 

Not that some people on the battle field did not deserve it, Steve had heard about Varus’ ruthlessness and the gruesome crucifixion of insurgents. But he had to keep up the occupational neutrality. Shadows ripping apart anyone was bad. No matter the person’s deeds. There were other ways to allot just punishment to anyone. 

Steve transformed under the cover of the dense foliage of the forest around the Kalkriese Hill. The Space Stone was resting against his breast bone and the blue glittering fabric of his new uniform was fluttering around him. This time around he wore a shortened toga and his feet were clad in the classic Roman sandals he had seen around the Imperium over the last few years were, only they stretched up to his upper thighs. He felt powerful in his new get up and he was ready to take on even a battalion of shadows. 

Also, he was really looking forward to meeting the guardian of the Power Stone. 

He threw himself into the fray, purifying shadows left and right by sending bursts of energy out form the brooch holding the Stone towards them. Steve was so caught up in the fight in front of him, that he was not aware that he was being circled by the shadows in the terrain. On his left, the hill was reaching high, way too high for him to scale up the steep slope. On his right side, the swampland of the Great Bog stretched out, making it unable to evade the approaching shadows in his back and right in front of him. 

Right when the first shadows burst forwards to attack him, a powerful wave of violet energy flooded the area seconds before a mighty, purple glowing hammer slammed through the first line of charging carriers of evil. 

“Fear the power of the Power Stone!” A giant, blonde man dropped down beside Steve in a crouch and let out a roaring battle cry. The hammer came slamming back into his outstretched right hand and Steve could just stop and stare as the figure, clad in the battle armor of the Germanic tribes stood tall beside him, a violet cape fluttering behind him.

Turning towards Steve he bestowed a bright grin on him that contrasted harshly with the raging fight going on around them: “Guardian of the Space Stone! A pleasure to make your acquaintance!” 

Reaching over, he pulled a flabbergasted Steve in and squeezed him heartily against his bronze breastplate. “I’m Thor, Avenger of the Power Stone! Ready to follow you into battle! And this mighty hammer is Mjolnir,” 

Letting go of Steve he swung the hammer once more, cutting a clear path through the black masses crawling around them. They set into motion simultaneously as if they had fought countless times together before. 

“I’m Steve and I don’t have anything mighty actually! But nice to meet you!” Throwing a thumb up while running, Steve shot another burst of blue glowing power out at a shadow rushing down the hillside towards them. 

“My friend Steve, every good warrior needs a weapon!” Thor boomed, incredulously staring down at his new brother in arms while throwing his hammer once more and decimating their enemies. 

Reaching down while running at full speed, Thor picked something off the ground and threw it at Steve. 

“Take this for now, I have a feeling, you could use something on the defensive side with your fighting style!” 

Looking down at what he just caught, Steve couldn’t help but feel a sense of rightness settle into him. Slipping his arm through the straps at the back, he hoisted a big, circular shield that an unfortunate Roman soldier had lost in battle up higher. 

He could definitely see himself fighting with this. 

*** 

Anagénnisi | Brave New World.

The second time Steve came to, he found himself in a sterile, non-descript room. 

His first thought was to check for the Space Stone that he had carried with him for longer than he really cared to remember. Reaching towards his chest, his fingers scrambled across the broad planes of his pecs but not finding the star-shaped brooch that was supposed to be there. 

The Space Stone was not with him anymore.

Forcing himself to calm down, he took a few deep breaths. 

First, he had to orient himself, then he could start tearing down the place and look for his Infinity Stone. 

He could hear automobiles roaring down a street outside the opened window, starched white curtains blowing in a soft breeze coming in.

There was also a baseball game broadcasted on the radio. He gingerly sat up in the bed he was lying in. Scratchy sheets were rustling with the movement. 

Looking around, he took further stock of his surroundings. It vaguely resembled a room he shared with Bucky before they shipped out from New York to England to fight side by side with the other Avengers. Because what had started as World War II as Germany against the Allied forces soon turned towards a battle for life and death of the whole world as Thanos and his army of shadows had entered the fights. They did not fight for any side in the war. The shadows killed anything that stood in their way. 

But Steve should have died in that last fight. He should not be in a room that looked like happier times, like the last night he and Bucky had made love to each other. 

And now Bucky was gone as well. Just like the others. 

At least that was what he had thought until Tony had been staring down at him. 

Tony… who should have died as well that fateful day. 

“Tony, I know you’re here. Come out of your hideout and tell me what’s up with this set up!” 

The door on the far side of the room slowly creaked open and not only Tony stepped in, but also the rest of what he had come to consider his family over the last decades: Natasha, her red hair braided back like it had been once back in Delphi. Clint, lip spilt and knuckles bust like every other time they met. Bruce, rubbing his hands together nervously and eyes shifting around the room, not meeting Steve’s. And lastly Thor, bright and exuberant smile on his face and heading straight towards him. 

The fact that all six of them were together at the same time, in the same place was unusual to say the least. The last time that had happened was hours before they had marched into the battle that he was sure was their last one. 

That was his first clue that something definitely was up. 

But before he could dwell on their ominous reunion, Steve was pulled into a bone-crushing hug by the blonde giant and rocked slightly from side to side. 

Feeling the other man’s arms around him grounded Steve in the moment. It made him almost push back his unease about the appearance of his brothers and sister in arms. The clothing they wore was completely different than what they were dressed in the last time he had seen them. As someone who had learned to adapt to every new century he was born in, this was another clue that it could not be the 1940s anymore.

And most disturbing: no one was carrying their Infinity gems with them. As discreetly as he tried to scan them, he could not make out to shapes of bangles or necklaces. Nat’s and Tony’s conspicuous diadem and ring were also missing. 

“Steve, so good to see you awake, old friend! You have indeed frightened us with your reenactment of the sleeping beauty!” 

Releasing him from his bear hug, Thor stepped back and clapped the slighter blonde heartily on the shoulder. 

“How are you feeling, Capsicle?” Tony was settling down next to him on the bed now, pressing in close to the younger man. 

Because younger he was, as he could see now up close. Tony had grey streaks shining through the usual black of his hair and beard. Wrinkles around his mouth and crinkles besides his eyes suggested that he was at least in his forties, if not fifties. Steve couldn’t remember if any one of them had ever reached an age that high. 

Looking around him, registering the expressions of the people he considered his family, Steve swallowed down his dread and faced his fears head on, the same way he had done every time before: “I would feel better if you could explain to me what happened. Last I remember you were all dead but I apparently didn’t get that luxury. What year is it? And where are our Stones?”

He watched them exchange uncomfortable glances among them. 

Natasha was the one to break the silence: “It’s a new millennium, Steve. It’s 2019 and we did die. At least the five of us did.” 

Reaching over, she grasped his right hand in both of hers. Whether to reassure him or to keep a hold of him in case he made a run for it, Steve didn’t know. And for once he was not in the mood to test the Widow’s reflexes with an escape attempt. He was more interested in hearing the rest. 

Now that his body was finally warm again after what felt like an eternity in the ice, the missing Space Stone was weighing more and more heavily on his mind. And the hollow place in his chest where Bucky once was, was aching more and more. 

Bruce was the one who broke the silence next: “You probably remember how each one of us died. And how all our gems transferred onto you.” 

He waited for Steve to nod at him. 

“And somehow you merged all six Stones into one, into the ultimate power, the Love Stone. With the help of that Stone you were able to purge the world for evil. No one knew what happened to you or that final gem. But suddenly, all of us reawakened.” 

They all looked at him, unsure of how he would handle this new information. But he could sense that this was not all. 

Swallowing, it was Tony who offered up the death blow: “We think it might be the Love Stone, it is still out there somewhere. And it’s definitely not used for the good of people.” 

***

Genesis | Bruce & Tony. 

When he came across Bruce and Tony, the Space Stone had in a way warned him that Mind and Time were close. Warned in the way that it led him to the same street that the both men more or less blew up when he stepped on it. 

Steve had been wandering around Renaissance Italy at that time. Florence more exactly because that was where life was happening in the 1480es. And after a dozen rides on this planet he had decided he deserved some life for himself. It was not like he was deserting his duty as a guardian of the Space Stone. 

After he had found the gem when turning sixteen and regaining the memories of past lives, he left his life in a quiet French town behind and took off to wander what would once be Europe. He mostly tuned out the impulses the gem gave out to steer him this way or another, mostly to drive out shadows somewhere. 

But there were five other guardians and they could surely pick up his slack. He could feel them in the back of his mind: Thor’s exuberance and rambunctiousness were once again coming strong from somewhere up in Scandinavia. Natasha and Clint had just blinked into existence, once more at the same time and in the same place. If Steve weren’t an almighty guardian of one of the Infinity Stones and therefore above such lowly emotions as jealousy… no, cut that. He was jealous. He wanted someone to share at least one of this countless lives with the same way those two did. 

Either way, there were the three of the guardians he had already gotten to know some lives ago, but there were still two Avengers missing on his list. After some years wandering around and ignoring most of his duties, he finally gave in to the urgings of the Space Stone and made his way towards Florence. Two more Infinity Stones were glowing there ever since he awoke to his destiny.  
And this is how he was wandering the lively streets of Florence, soaking up the bustling atmosphere of market criers and servants haggling. He couldn’t wait to throw himself into the city life here, perhaps try to learn with one of the great artists working here at the time. He was pretty taken with the art created by Donatello and Botticelli, their reputation having made their way even towards France. 

He was lost in thought and busy getting caught up in his surroundings and admiring the Neptune Fountain, when suddenly the earth was shaken wildly and the imposing structures of the market place around him started to crumble. An ominous rumbling filled the air and dust was wafting up between the stalls. 

Looking around hectically, Steve tried to make out a secluded corner for him to transform. The Stone hadn’t warned him for any irregular activities of shadows or other, but a city crumbling around him was a pretty clear sign that his expertise was needed. But before he could dive a crate of apples, the cobble stone street in front of him caved in and opened up a black, gaping hole in the middle of the Piazza della Signoria.

“Damn, Tony! I told you this was too much of the basalt stones!” Rising up from the dark where two figures, glowing in the dust settling around them. 

Steve could only stand there and gape up at them. 

And this was how he met Tony, Guardian of the Mind Stone, and Bruce, Guardian of the Time Stone, two inventors and researches that took the newfound interest of the Renaissance in science and Humanism a little too far and discovered explosives way before their time. 

***

Anagénnisi | Weary.

He saw it in their eyes, in their posture what they expected of him. 

At the same time, he could feel them at the back of his mind like he could all the other times he formed a connection with them in past lives. There were Clint and Natasha who had grew up alongside each other in a quiet town somewhere in the Midwest. They were childhood sweethearts in this new life, bound to marry soon and go down the path of white picket fences, 1.9 children, and a dog or two. Clint was secretly dreaming of buying an old farm, restoring it, maybe keep a few cows and horses. 

Then there was Bruce. He embraced the possibilities of science made available in this time, enjoying each new discovery and collecting doctor’s degrees left and right. Thor in turn made his energetic disposition his job and was playing professional sports. 

And then there was Tony. From what Steve gleaned from the glimpses he got since waking up in the ice, Tony had a very moved history as one of the biggest arms dealer the world had seen since the War that cost all their lives. With all his own misery, he couldn’t help a slight feeling of malicious joy at the ethical crisis that should have the other man shaking since awakening to his Avenger past. 

"Steve, we have to fight one more time." Tony was fixing him with a stare, pleading and decidedly at the same time. "We have to go into battle one last time and we have to go now!" 

And all Steve could feel was rage. Rage was good, rage let him force down his sorrow and filled the void in his heart where he once carried love and tenderness.

"No, I don't! You can go let yourself get killed once more for the oh-so-greater good or whatever but I've had enough! I've died more times than I can count!" 

Jumping up from the bed, Steve began to pace the set up room. The anxious gazes if Clint and Bruce rested heavily against his spine. 

"Steve…," Natasha began but he cut her short forcefully.

"No, Nat. For all I know I just watched all five of you die yesterday and I thought I had followed you to the other side for good this time." 

Scrubbing both hands roughly across his face, he looked at her. Let her see his grief and pain and wounds that were still so fresh for him, regardless of the 70 years that had passed for everyone else. 

"You were all reborn and had at least a few years of not remembering. I lost my family just yesterday. I watched Bucky die for me just a few hours ago." 

And this was finally his breaking point. Two millennia fighting tirelessly - dying, remembering, fighting, and then dying again. Always with a pure heart and devoted to the Space Stone even in the darkest of times. 

But finding love for the very first time and losing it the cruelest way possible. That was the last straw. 

Salty tears were streaming down his face and he bit down on a heaving sob that was threatening to spill out into the open. 

"I'm out. Kill me now or just send the Stone out into the world to find someone else worthy enough of all that misery. I don't care anymore. I can’t care anymore.” 

He could feel their hearts breaking for him. But their resolve did not waver. 

***

Teleute | Big Bang. 

“Steve! Steve, look at me!” He could feel Bucky shaking him, could hear him screaming. But he could not bring himself to react. He could only feel: despair, grief, and a pain so unspeakable that he believed his heart must have shattered into a million pieces. 

The second Thor’s bangle, purple glow of the Power Stone shining bright in the encroaching darkness, slammed into Steve, molding itself to his left upper arm like it belonged there and not onto the muscular arm of someone else, the last two Avengers fighting fell. 

The Hulk’s roar was ringing in his ears as Bruce’s life light blinked out of existence. And Tony went out like he always did and how Steve had gotten to know him: with an earthshattering explosion that ripped half of the shadows roaming the battle ground with him into the abyss that was nothingness. 

He was trembling, shaking like a leaf in a storm.

The impact of Tony’s bracelet and Bruce’s necklace settling onto him and the powers of both the Stones flowing threw him had him on the cusp of breaking down, emotionally and physically. 

They were all gone, all five of his team members, his fellow Avengers. And most importantly – the only family he had known through all of his lives. 

“Steve! Stevie!” He could feel Bucky trying to keep him standing, having one of his arms slung around his broad shoulders. Any other time he would have swooned at Bucky’s strength of keeping them both upright. But now he could only distantly remark that it was his right arm that was hanging uselessly over his lover’s back. The one where Clint’s ring and Tony’s bangle had taken up space. 

“We have to keep moving, Steve! We can’t stop, the shadows are coming closer! Thanos cannot get you, I just can’t let that happen!” Bucky was screaming at him now, panicked.  
He allowed himself to be manhandled, to be dragged backwards and probably towards their side’s trenches. They dodged attacking shadows and shots fired at the shadows by their allies. But what would that even help anything. 

The Avengers were gone, only sad, little Stevie left to defend humanity from Thanos and his shadows. He should just hand the Infinity Stones over and be done with once and for all. 

The gaping emptiness where just minutes ago the vibrant minds of the others were felt like it was growing and eating him up from the inside out. 

And the powers of Space, Mind, Reality, Soul, Power, and Time that were fighting for dominance over his body were crackling across his skin, racing along his nerves, firing up and down his veins. He felt like seconds before exploding. 

“Steve, come on, we have to go!” One moment, he was half dragged, half carried across the beat up ground. 

And the next one, an ear splitting scream drowned out the noise of battle and the raging thoughts inside his brain. He slipped out of Bucky’s strong grip and stumbled a few steps farther until his legs gave out. He looked around frantically before his knees even hit the ground.

“Bucky!” Yelling feverishly, he tried to get back up to his feet. 

And then he saw the brilliant silver of the winged brooch fastened on Bucky’s battle attire blinking up among the rubble to his far left.

“No, no, no!” He crawled forward in panicked fear, uncaring about the rough stone cutting into his skin and barely protected flesh. Hoping against all hope that Bucky was not laying there motionlessly, that it was only the brooch, and Bucky had taken off to eliminate enemies without Steve holding him back. 

But the unseeing gaze of these beloved steel grey eyes that were staring up at him when he finally found what he hoped he wouldn’t find forced another scream out of Steve. The silver pin that Bucky had carried with him every day was tipped in blood and a ragged shadowy spear was protruding out of the man’s strong chest.

Throwing himself across his lover, shielding him from an attack that had already happened, Steve felt the last part of his soul shatter. Ugly, heaving sobs shook him and the body he was sprawled on. 

“Pathetic.” A dark shadow fell on his grieving form then, a steel boot knocking against Bucky’s left arm that lay uncurled on the dirty ground. 

“Two millennia of posturing as the guardians of the Infinity Stones and all but one fallen in the blink of an eye.” An abundantly large, monstrous figure was looming above Steve, facial features distorted and muscles swollen and bunched up in the most abhorrent way. A chunky, golden gauntlet was glimmering in the dimming light of a dying day. “And you are the last inconvenience between me and the Stones.” 

A cruel smile twisted the face of Thanos, the monster who had been once a man with ideals that got twisted and perverted by the shadows and who had become something between a human and a shadow himself. 

The monster that Steve, the Avengers, and Bucky had set forth to destroy and safe the world. 

A shudder raced down Steve’s back. Ominous shadows were wafting around the warrior in front of him. They were sifting through him, as if he was not quite corporeal anymore. Or if he contained more than just the shadow of his own blackened soul in this body. 

The dark power emanating from the mad titan threatened to suffocate Steve, to overcome him. A vision filled Steve’s inner eye inadvertently: of Thanos striking one last blow – against Steve, against the Stones. Of Steve falling like the rest of his comrades and the Stones being controlled by Thanos. Of the Stones darkening, blackening and covering the whole world in a sickening, impenetrable shadow. 

Steve could not let that happen. They all had sacrificed too much, had loved too much to let the whole planet be condemned to eternal darkness and suffering. With a sudden bout of energy, he struggled back to his feet. 

“You’ll never get the Stones! You took everything from me and now I will take everything from you!” He looked Thanos dead in the eye, standing proud and tall. The power of six Infinity Stones was flowing through him and with it the very essence of his fellow Avengers: Tony’s bravery. Bruce’s intellect. Thor’s optimism. Natasha’s resourcefulness. And Clint’s lust for life. 

“I doubt that!” And with a powerful thrust of his gauntlet, Thanos sent a flood of shadows crashing over Steve. 

Bracing himself against the damned souls attacking him, Steve crossed his arms in front of his body, shielding his face from the swiping claws and biting stabs raining down on him. He could feel how his body lost strength with each new hitting landing on him and he felt desperation claw up his throat once more. He did not know what to do, his shield got lost in the wild scramble across the battle field and there was no rear cover coming for him. 

The onslaught only ramped up around him and over the yowling and screeching of the shadows he could make out the mad laugh of the titan Thanos. His knees buckled and he hit the ground once more, jarring his whole body. His vision was dimming and his breathing got more labored with each inhale. 

He would not avenge his team. He would die here, alongside Bucky and the others. And perhaps it would be the last time of carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.  
Steve slowly let his eyes slip closed, arms lowering from their defensive position. The shadows were clawing and yanking at him. 

But he had made peace with it. He couldn’t bring peace and love to humanity as was his duty. He failed mankind. He was no longer worthy of carrying an Infinity Stones. 

He was about to lose consciousness, when suddenly all six of the artifacts holding the gems began glowing, gleaming in the dim light and plunging the world in a rainbow of yellow, orange, red, violet, blue, and green. 

Blinking up hazily, Steve watched as the Stones broke out of their vessels, leaving behind bangles, a necklace, a ring, a diadem, and a brooch that hung uselessly down is weak body. 

“What is this? What are you doing!” Thanos was screaming in an enraged panic, his shadows crying out in terror. 

“Beautiful…” Meanwhile, Steve was captivated by the spectacle enfolding before his eyes. The whole world was wrapped in giant veils of aurora borealis, billowing in a multitude of color and purifying every shadow the brilliant lights touched. 

The six Stones formed a circle then, gyrating around each other. 

Before Steve realized what was about to happen, the Stones rushed together, crushing into each other, and melting together. A blinding light burst forth and made it unable for him to see what was happening.

An earthshattering boom rang through to the core of the planet. The ground was quaking and shaking and made Steve fall to the ground once more. 

Then finally, the world around them calmed down and the light faded away to the dim twilight it had been before. There was only one source of light left, streaming out blinding white light across the remains of the battle field and the shadows crawling across chasms and cairns. 

Where just now six separate entities were floating in midair, only one was left. One crystal clear gem whose power felt nearly tangible. One Stone, made from all six Infinity Stone.  
Disbelievingly, Steve staggered back to his feet and watched, as the most powerful stone of them all slowly floated towards him and came to a hovering stop right in front of where his heart was beating wildly in his chest. 

Carefully, he reached out towards it. 

The second he touched the gem, a surge so powerful unlike anything else he had ever felt rushed through him and elevated him above the war zone. He could feel a new transformation taking over him, bleaching his blue battle attire to a pure white, glittering and glimmering like untouched snow and pure like the purest of hearts. Glowing wings sprouted from his back and ribbons of white light wrapped around his whole form, encasing him and cradling him in their embrace. 

Blinking back to a new awareness, he fixed a determined gaze at Thanos below him. 

“I am Steve, the first Avenger, former guardian of the Space Stone. I was deemed worthy to carry the Love Stone, the symbol of everything good and just in this world. It was born from the sacrifices made by my fellow Avengers and me in every life that was bestowed on us. You have dared to pitch the world into darkness and you have turned innocents in atrocious monsters. I will not stand for this and I will avenge every life that you have taken!” 

Lifting the Love Stone above his head with his left, he extended his right hand down towards Thanos. 

“Avengers, assemble!” His thunderous battle cry rung out across the plains of Europe and a wave of pure energy burst forth from his palm. 

He could feel the spirits of his team assemble around him, their ghostly remnants on this earth crowding around him. Helping him carry this one last burden and gifting him their strength. He felt Thor’s sure grip on his shoulder, Tony’s hand clasped around the hand holding up the Love Stone. Natasha rested a hand on his hip and Bruce softly touched his back. And Clint helped him keep the hand steady that was purging Thanos and all his evil shadows from this world. 

“Thank you, my friends, for being with me.” And as he watched them fade way completely, their loving smiles evaporating into thin air, he slowly lost consciousness as all power left him and he could feel a cold settling deep within him. 

He was not even aware of his fall from the sky and the mountain of ice that had formed below him, ready to cradle his body in its cold depths. 

Steve had gone to rest one final time. 

***

Genesis | Bucky.

Steve and Bucky met when they were six years old, ready to take on the world that until that point only consisted of the few blocks that made up their home in Brooklyn, New York City. 

In 1918, Steve had started out once more the same way he did around 300 BC: tiny, thin, and sickly from the day he was born. But with a bigger heart than his frail body should be able to carry and a mouth louder than his lungs should have been able to handle. 

Although he wouldn’t be an Avenger for at least another twenty years – not that he knew about his destiny in those early days, his sense of right on wrong was stronger than most.  
And his conviction on which side he would stand was hard and fast from day one. When he saw unfairness or unjust behavior, he would not rest until he had righted things wronged. 

If he had to, even with his tiny fists flying. 

Bucky stumbled across Steve at one of this instances during the 1920s. 

Steve had found a group of kids his age terrorizing an alley cat behind the dumpsters around the shop at the corner. And when his angry yelling for them to stop hadn’t helped, he threw a punch at the first of the thugs to be. 

Which turned out to be a mistake as the five boys, all bigger than him, rounded him up quite quickly to let him have a taste of his own medicine. But at least the kitten had taken its chance and gotten away. What was a bruise or a cut lip in exchange for the tiny cat being safe? 

Although that last kick he received in the rips was indeed fairly painful and pushed him over into a coughing fit that left him reeling. 

“Hey, leave him alone! Five against one is hardly fair!” 

The commotion of someone new entering the alley had Steve’s attackers scrambling to get away from him. Steve was still gasping for air and fighting against the dark spots dancing in his vision, when a hand was shoved into his line of sight. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Then hand grasped one of his and pulled him up from the grimy ground and into the waiting arms of someone he had yet to recognize. But damn did that hug feel good. 

Coughing once more, Steve pushed away from the one holding him. He wasn’t some damsel in distress who needed saving. He had everything under control. Glaring up at his savior, he pressed out: “I’m fine, I could do this all day! I can get by on my own!” 

Then it registered who was standing there in front of him, arms still open and ready to wrap him up once more. A boy his age, brown locks falling into his storm-grey eyes, was grinning at him, smile crooked and missing his two front teeth. Steve’s heart gave a painful lurch that had nothing to do with his shortage of breath caused by the coughing. And more with what was surely an angel, standing there in the twilight of a filthy alley in Brooklyn, NYC. 

“Sure you could but you don’t have to! I’m Bucky and I’m your best friend now!” 

And this is how Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes conspired to take on the world together, not knowing that just a few years later, they would really do just that. From best friends at age 6 they became closer than even brothers could and it only took the first bouts of puberty for both of them to work out what these feelings were really all about. One more righteous brawl that Steve had started and Bucky finished for him, one more split lip in the back alley they had first met in. And Bucky giving in to the urge to kiss Steve’s hurts better. 

It all took a turn for the worse when at age 18, after just having lost his beloved mother Sarah, Steve once more found the Space Stone by chance, hidden away in a side altar at the Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral when all he wanted to do was pray for his mother’s soul. 

With a rush of colors, sounds, and emotions, his memories of past lives came flooding back at him, threatening to pull him under in a maelstrom of moments lived and relived. His first transformation into his Avengers form let his body grow strong and healthy once more, alienating him like he never thought possible. He was shaking apart between the pews when Bucky found him, once more coming to his rescue like a guarding angel. 

Holding him tight, Bucky swore to help him carry the burden through another life that Steve hadn’t asked for: “I’ll be with you until the end of the line, Stevie.” 

Shaking apart in Bucky’s arms by the sheer force of his memories and the reality of his newfound duty setting in, it was hours of them sitting on the cold stone floor of the time-honored church. Bucky had cradled Steve’s new, strong body in his lap without comment, just bundling him up like he had the night before in their shared bed. 

And Bucky held true to his promise. He was with him when he encountered his first shadow and purified the poor soul afflicted by it. Bucky was with him when he first transformed willingly. And he cleaned his split knuckles and cuts he carried away from back alley brawls that he got into even more now that his body was fit to fight the way he needed it to. Bucky also bandaged up bruises and wounds he suffered from fighting darker opponents. 

Thanks to Bucky and his fascination with pin up girls (or more like Bucky fantasizing loudly about Steve wearing a get up like this for Bucky’s viewing pleasure), Steve also brought his Avengers costume into the 20th century. 

Gone was the tight corset and flowing frock coat combination in dark blues that made up his 19th century battle armor. Now he was fighting for the good of humanity in dark blue tiny shorts and a vest with blue shimmering sleeves covering his arms down to sturdy gauntlets that helped in carrying and throwing his shield. His waist and legs were covered in the same material which was light as air and allowed him maximum agility and flexibility.

And despite Bucky complaining about how this was not appropriate for armor, deep down both of them knew he thoroughly enjoyed Steve’s transformations. As long as he was by his side and having his back in case a shadow did get to close. Helping him carry the burden of guarding the world and the Space Stone.

“My guardian angel!” Steve tended to simper each time Bucky threw himself into battles alongside him, firing guns with a prowess that made Steve eye him salaciously time and time again. He even went so far as to design a brooch like he carried across his chest for Bucky. 

And every time he saw the delicately shaped silver wings resting against the firm leather of the blue jacket that Bucky preferred to wear for battles, he could not help but fall a little bit more in love with the man that once offered to be his friend behind a dirty dumpster. 

They had been fighting ten years side by side when the Space Stones call led them to Europe where World War II had been raging for five years. It was the first time in this life and any other before that that all six Avengers assembled to save the world. 

The night before the battle to end them all, Steve and Bucky were pressed together from head to toe. Soaking up all the warmth and love they could find in each other’s arms. Without talking, they knew what tomorrow could bring, would possibly bring. And it was not the quiet life, somewhere out in the suburbs starting their own little family like they had been dreaming about for some time now. 

“You know, for as long as I can remember, across all my lives, I just wanted to do what was right. I guess I’m not quite sure what that is anymore.” Sighing, Steve burrowed deeper into Bucky’s arms. 

A soft nudge to his chin made him look up and into the steel grey eyes that he had come to love more than anything else in the past two millennia. They held everything he ever longed for: love, compassion, and the will to stay until the very end of the line. 

Both men met wordlessly in a desperate kiss, conveying all they could not say in a wild clash of lips. Rolling them over, Bucky crawled on top of Steve, chasing his lips the second separated for a short gasp of air. 

The sense of dread that had settled in their hearts the moment they had stepped onboard of the steam ship to cross the ocean to step into the war zone was ramping up inside them and urged them to shed their clothes without care where they landed. Only when they were skin to skin and able to feel the other without any barriers between did they calm down. 

Pressing one last kiss to Steve’s lips, Bucky got up on his hands and knees to stare down at the blond man below him.

“You are so beautiful to me, Stevie. Inside and out. And no matter what tomorrow brings, I’ll forever be grateful for every second that I got to love you in this life. And who knows, perhaps we’ll meet again!” 

A sob wracked Steve then, making up fall apart around all the emotions he had kept bottling up for centuries. He cried over the unfairness of it all, of finally finding the missing piece of his soul. His other half that made his heart glow brighter than the Space Stone even. 

For each tear he shed, for himself, for Bucky, and for the life the two of them would not get to live this time around, Bucky pressed a reverent kiss into his skin. From the corner of his eye over the swell of his cheek, from that one spot on his neck that made his knees weak to the center of his chest where normally the brooch with the Space Stone rested. Muffled sobbing accompanied his way. 

From his left nipple that got nibbled on, Bucky made his way down until he pressed an innocent kiss to the tip of Steve’s dick. Staring up along the hard planes of Steve’s battle hardened body, conveying the depth of his feelings for this man with just a glance, Bucky took all of Steve in at once. 

“Buck…!” A heaving cry was forced out of his lungs and his quiet sobs turned into heartfelt moans. Throwing his head back into the pillows, Steve gave himself over completely to the feeling of Bucky around him. 

The way that he expertly traced the thick vein along his shaft that had shudders racing down his back. The enthusiastic suction that the other man applied that made Steve shove his hands into brunette locks to anchor himself in the moment. Feeling himself bump against the back of Bucky’s throat had his toes curling into the bedspread. And the kittenish way that the sensitive tip of his dick got mouthed on, tongue dipping into the slit ever so often, had him keening high in his throat. 

The first probing of slick fingers at his hole and a particular deep delve down onto his cock made Steve come with a scream. He vaguely felt Bucky tighten his lips even more around him, sucking all of what Steve had to give down with a loud moan that tingled down his shaft and made him lose himself completely. Heat spread out from his groin towards the very tips of his fingers and toes. His sight blackened for a moment and all he could do was lie there and tremble apart below Bucky hovering above him. 

The sparks fired along his every nerve ending by Bucky brushing his fingers softly against his prostate had him coming back to himself. Gazing up hazily at Bucky made him smile drunkenly. Reaching up, he pulled the other man down into a searing kiss.

“My angel…” he sighed against the other’s plush bottom lip. “I’m ready, let me feel you!”

Not needing much prompting, Bucky lined himself up with Steve’s loosened hole. 

“I love you so much!” Whispering reverently into the silent night around them, Bucky drove himself him and into Steve’s waiting body. 

A loud whimpering sound filled the air around them and shuttering the silence. 

“Bucky!” Moaning loudly, Steve wrapped his arms around Bucky’s broad back, pulling him in tighter. His legs came up to cradle the forcefully thrusting hips of the man above him.  
He could feel himself clench around the hard cock slamming into him relentlessly, hitting his prostate on every other thrust. Bucky’s heavy breathing inside his ear and their sweat slicked chests sliding against each other heightened his every sensation. His dick sliding between toned stomachs. Bucky’s hands gripping his hips tightly, sure to leave bruises.  
Steve was only vaguely aware of Bucky’s incessant mumbling, could it barely hear over the rush of blood in his ears. But what he registered had him soaring even higher.  
How beautiful he was. How much Bucky loved him. How they would live out their life together as they had always dreamed. 

A particularly well aimed thrust had Steve screaming again and spurting come between them. He bore down hard onto the loved presence of the dick inside him and forced Bucky to tip over into an earthshattering orgasm alongside him with a squeeze of his channel that boarded on painfully tight. 

They laid there pressed together for a long time, neither willing to separate their bodies. 

Not for the first time Steve wondered how he had spent lives without feeling like this. Tightening is arms around Bucky, he forced himself to fall asleep. 

***

Anagénnisi | The Final One.

Despite his heartache and determination to never again set foot onto a battlefield, in the end his sense of duty and the fear for the lives of his family that he was lucky enough to find once more won out. 

Together, all six of them, they stepped out onto the plain fields somewhere in the middle of America to face their last enemy. 

Tony had fashioned them special artifacts that resembled their old vessels for the Infinity Stones that had perished in Steve’s fight against Thanos. These new objects were designed to harbor the last traces of magic within the essence of their beings that centuries of carrying the Infinity Stones had ingrained in them. 

The star-formed brooch that was now resting against his breast bone looked exactly the same as his old one had. Except that it was lighter, missing the weight of the Space Stone. But it allowed him to channel its powers and transform for one last time. 

He was back into his dark blue vest and shorts, the fabric settling around him like a second, well-worn skin. Beside him, Natasha was back in her orange, tight fitting cat suit. Tony’s metallic armor was shining in the dim light of the sunrise. 

And then he stepped onto the field. They did not know him, nor would they. Their enemy was wearing heavy combat gear, black and unidentifiable. Half of his face was covered by a black mask, strapped across his mouth and nose. Making his facial features unrecognizable. Dark brown lock were tumbling down into his eyes as he was strutting across the plain and towards them. 

Steve had the vague feeling that he knew the man somehow. 

But he had slept for the better part of a century, he didn’t even know his fellow Avengers in this new life. 

And then something caught his eye: a dark tinged something gleamed in the center of their adversary’s chest. Something winged and silvery. Something that he knew like the back of his hand because he had spent nights poring over the design, working tirelessly on polishing the metal into the form he wanted. It was Bucky’s winged brooch. And embedded into it was the Love Stone, the one he watched being created in the battle that should have ended the world. 

“Bucky!” Not caring for Natasha’s shocked cry and Clint’s attempt at grabbing him, Steve fell into a run, storming towards the dark figure marching towards them. “Bucky!”  
“Steve, what the hell!” Tony was cursing behind him and storming after him, followed by the rest of the Avengers. They all did not comprehend what let him lower his guard out of nowhere and run towards their enemy without any defenses. But they were his comrades and they would have his back as long as they could. 

But Steve did not spare a second to think about what he was doing, what could happen to him. All he did was follow his instincts and they catapulted him towards a man that his heart told him was Bucky. 

“Bucky, it’s me! Steve!” He was nearly at an arm’s length close to the other man, when he lifted a hand wrapped into a silver glinting metal gauntlet and shot a burst of dark energy towards Steve. 

Screaming in pain, Steve dropped to the ground. The dark energy that had hit him was crawling across his skin, sending electric bursts along his body. 

“Bucky… it’s me!” He whimpered while cowering at the feet of the dark looming figure. 

“Who the hell is Bucky?” Was all the other man could say before the Avengers were on him, sending bursts of their old Stones’ energies at him. 

“No!” Steve fought himself back to his feet. “That is Bucky! Don’t hurt him!” 

“No idea what you’re talking about, Cap! But that is one sick bastard who has corrupted the Love Stone and threatens to end the world. Again.” Tony sent blasts of yellow energy at the other soldier who swiped each and every attack aside. As if they were flies: not causing any harm but being a general inconvenience to him. 

He sent shocks of black energy their way, growling threateningly every time the others managed to duck out of the way and prepare a counter attack. 

“Can’t you see the winged brooch? It’s the one I made for Bucky, I’m sure!” He willed his team to understand, to cease their attack. 

In that moment, Natasha managed to hit their enemy into the face with a ball of concentrated Soul energy. Holding his breath, Steve staggered forward, fearing the worst.  
The dark haired man lifted his face, letting them see the damage Natasha had done. The black face mask was cracked and he slowly reached up to rip it off. 

By the shocked gasps around him, Steve was sure the others could finally see what he knew all along: the handsome face of James “Bucky” Barnes was staring at them from below the scraggy locks of brown hair. Dark shadows were wafting up around him, curling around his arms and chest. The dark Infinity gem sitting atop his heart shining ominously. 

“Steve, I think the Love Stone was somehow corrupted and is now controlling him! We need to purify him! I say we all hit him at once with our powers!” Tony commandeered them to spread out and form a circle around who was formerly Bucky Barnes. 

“No! We’ll kill him! I’ll find another way!” Fear was gripping him tightly. He could not let his friends kill his lover, no matter if it would save the world. He would not allow that.  
Before he could even form a proper thought, his feet propelled him forwards. Dodging a fist crackling with energy sent his way, Steve threw his arms around a struggling Bucky and pressed his lips to the ones pressed into a hard line. 

The screaming and yelling of the team for him to get away from Bucky was deafening, as was the rumbling and growling starting up all around them. The Love Stone was burning up where it was pressed against Steve’s naked chest. But he did not let up. 

If one stolen kiss of true love could save Bucky and he could spare the both of them the tragedy of Bucky being evaporated by energies too powerful for one human to stand, then he would give this kiss his all. 

A blinding light burst forth from between them and forced Steve to squeeze his eyes together tightly. Powerful waves of energies flowed out from the gem between them, burning through them. But he kept his lips pressed firmly to Bucky’s, hoping against all hope. 

He did not know how long he stood there, pressed from head to toe to the man he loved under circumstances he would never have thought possible. But then he felt arms wrap tentatively wrap around his waist, settling into a hold that was more muscle memory than conscious thought. 

The lips against his softened, becoming plush and pliable like the ones that bestowed his first kiss onto Steve. 

“Wha…,” blinking his eyes open, Steve stared at the same steel grey that he feared he would never see again. 

“Stevie… you brought me back!” And pulling him in once more, Bucky kissed him with all that he was. 

***

Parádeisos | One Live For The Two Of Us. 

When Steve felt Bucky’s hard shaft push into him for the first time in over 70 years, he felt tears roll down his cheeks once more. 

“Darling, enough with the crying. You have shed enough tears to last several lifetimes.” Leaning down, Bucky kissed each new surfacing tear away, trailing down their tracks across Steve’s cheek bones and into the hollow of his throat. Leaving loving kisses in the wake of his lips. 

And each kiss healed them both. Steve from the losses and burdens he had to suffer through for an eternity. And Bucky for he had woken to rubble and ashes and a mountain of ice towering above him, more dead than alive. And for the way the Love Stone had settle onto his winged brooch, restoring him and healing him. And making him feel Steve’s loss so keenly that it had blackened his soul with the despair of losing his love. 

But now each soft roll of the brunette’s hips against his had Steve slowly climbing up the peak of orgasm, overcoming their hurt and pain together. Gone was the frantic need of the last time they made love. Now they were only bathed in the soft embrace of love and endless possibilities for this new life. 

And the first real smile broke out across his face then since waking up in the ice. 

“It’s happy tears, Buck.” Winding his hands into the long, dark locks of the man he loved with all his heart, he pulled him down into a tender kiss. “We finally get one life for the two of us.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and admiring the art!
> 
> If you liked it, we'd appreciate comments and kudos greatly! 
> 
> Feel free to share the masterpost on [tumblr](https://loeily.tumblr.com/post/185632511366/one-life-for-the-two-of-us-art-by-loeily-story-by) :)


End file.
